Life without the MDBC
by Starbuckslovers
Summary: What happens if the mothers didn't form the book club back in sixth grade? Would the girls be where they are? Megan and Becca are still part of the Fab Four ruling the school teasing Emma and Jess, a pair of goody-two shoes. Cassidy loves sports but is lonely after moving from CA. Will these girls become friends despite their differences? Read to find out what happens!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is my first fanfic so please be nice! I'm really excited to be writing this since I love the MDBC series and have been reading them since I was in elementary school! In this story, the girl's mothers did not meet at yoga back in their sixth grade year and did not form the book club. There might be some weird things in this that don't match up with the books but it's because the book club doesn't exist which is why the girls are not friends with each other or haven't been on their adventures in the club. Hopefully you'll get it as you read on! I'm going to try to make it so that they all be friends together in the end but I wanted to try out this idea to imagine what their lives would be like without the book club. Thank you for reading this!**

Please R/R! Disclaimer: I do not own anything, Heather Vogel Frederick owns the MDBC.

Emma's POV 

I wake up to the sound of my pink alarm clock beeping. BEEP, BEEP, BEEP

I turn around, groaning at the sudden intrusion. I squint to read the time, 8:15 am. Wait, what!? I literally jump out of bed, almost landing on Melville, my cat, or rather, my family's cat. He snarls at me then proceeds to run out of the room, probably to my parent's room where he could continue his little cat-nap. Running to the bathroom, I quickly grab my purple glasses and the clothes I had set out in preparation for today. The first day of high school.

I brush my teeth while trying to brush my hair, completely unaware that my older brother, Darcy is pounding on the door until I hear him yelling at me. "Emma! We're going to be late!"

"I'm coming", I yell back while rinsing my mouth and adjusting my purple shirt to settle more casually on my black silk pants.

I run downstairs, grab a piece of toast with some Nutella already spread on it, thanks to my mother. As I am about to run out the door to the bus stop, my mother interrupts me. "Emma, I hope you have fun! Say hi to Jess and Megan for me, Ok?"

"Sure mom!" I say trying my best to act happy about this. "I'm going to go now, I don't want to miss the bus!"

"Ok honey, just have fun. Don't forget to be social! And remember to get your key! Darcy has football and neither your father nor I will be home today after school!"

"Got it mom!"

I see my bus coming towards my stop and sprint like crazy to get there, even though I know Darcy will ask the bus driver to wait. I hop on, look for an empty seat and sit down two rows behind the driver. Darcy goes to the back of the bus where he sees his super-popular jock friends. I think about the conversation my mom and I had this morning and roll my eyes. _My mom still wants me to be friends with Megan, even though we are so totally not!_ I think. Ever since Megan's dad became super rich after inventing this gizmo thing, Megan dumped me for Becca Chadwick, Ashley Sanborn, and Jen Webster. They, the Fab Four, ruled the school last year, and they vowed to do the same this year, in my freshmen year. I take out my notebook and start writing.

 _Goals for the freshmen year_

 _1._ _Don't let Megan Wong and her friends tease me as much as last year_

 _2._ _Get straight A's, even in math (even if it isn't my best subject)_

 _3._ _Stick with Jess, no matter which class_

 _4._ _Try to keep a positive attitude_

Luckily, the bus stops at Jess's house and I peek out the window to see her waving to her dad and younger brother, Ryan as she walks up the steps on the bus. Ryan must be sick today if he wasn't going to school since the middle school bus came already and her other brother, or Ryan's twin, Dylan isn't here. I look back down at my violet swirl notebook with smiley faces on the front cover, thinking about more goals. Jess glances around the bus, looking uncomfortable as she tries to find me. I sit up and she spots me, looking relieved. She walks to my seat and sits down. Glancing at my lap and seeing the opened notebook, she asks, "Are you writing in your notebook again Emma?"

"Yeah, I'm trying to come up with goals for the new school year. I only have four so far, but I want to… I don't know, accomplish something this year. Have a better year than in middle school" I reply.

"I know what you mean, um, what about make new friends?" Jess suggests.

I smile and write that goal down. In middle school, the Fab Four made life miserable for me and Jess. They teased me about my weight, made fun of my clothes since most of them are hand me downs from Nicole Patterson, this girl who goes to my church. She's in the same grade as Darcy and is very popular, even if her clothes aren't really my style and haven't done anything to make me stand out. The Fab Four teased Jess about her life on her Farm, Half-Moon Farm and her mother, who lives in New York to be an actress on this sappy soap-opera, _Heart Beats_.

The rest of the way to school is uneventful, with Jess and I talking about life and what the year will be like. We arrive fifteen minutes before the bell rings for homeroom. Darcy brings us to the class list to see what homeroom we are in.

"Emma, you are in Mrs. Smith's homeroom and Jess, Mr. Kasey's."

I look up quickly at Darcy and blurt, "We're not in the same homeroom?"

He looks back down at me pitifully, "I'm afraid not Em."

"Who else is in my homeroom?" I ask.

Darcy looks back at the list and starts to read the names one by one, I don't pay attention until I hear him mention Megan Wong, Becca Chadwick, and Jen Webster. I close my eyes, the first day of high school, and already two disasters. Me and Jess not being in the same homeroom and now, I find out that three of the Fab Four will be in my homeroom with me. I sigh, trying to force my mind to be optimistic while Jess glances at Darcy fondly, who is now going over the names of students in Jess's homeroom, closely. Jess never told me this, but I know that she likes Darcy. It's so obvious because of the way she looks at him when we're hanging out. They would make a really cute couple but I know from Darcy that he only thinks of her as an honorary little sister. He told me that she was too quiet, too shy and he didn't think that dating her was a good idea.

Darcy perks up when he gets to the name Cassidy Sloane. He is always going on about Cassidy and how awesome she is at sports. "Jess! You'll have Cassidy in your homeroom, she is really nice. I think you'll like her!"

Jess stares at her feet, "Ok, I'll see". She glances at me and I can tell that she wants to go to class. Jess is a brainiac, she is really smart in every subject, even math, which I suck at. We leave Darcy who has moved to his homeroom list and is fist bumping his best friend, Kyle Anderson, who I have known since I was in diapers.

"Maybe we'll be in the same classes" I say hopefully to Jess, "but even if we aren't, we'll still see each other at lunch!"

"Yeah," Jess states glumly. It must be hard for her to have her mother be living in New York, instead of here, in Concord, Massachusetts, supporting Jess on her first day of high school. Her mom sent her a really cute blue and white sweatshirt to make up for her absence instead but Jess is still disappointed.

We stop at my homeroom and I walk in cautiously. I wave bye to Jess and look around. The classrooms are so much bigger and cleaner than the ones I had in middle school. Mrs. Smith looks really nice also with a fashionable bob and really pretty blond hair. I look at the seats and sees that we are sit where we would like to. I choose a seat that is in the middle of the room but in the second row since I don't want to look like a teacher's pet and have Megan laugh at me. I glance around, hearing the first bell ring. Kids start trickling into the room and Mrs. Smith looks up from her desk to look around. She spots me looking at her and smiles. I smile back. Suddenly, my smile disappears; Megan, Becca, and Jen have arrived, and they look like they're out to get me.

 **I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Sorry about any errors. This chapter was mainly an introduction to the plot of the story with a lot of facts that you already know. The next chapter will be a lot more action based and you'll get to see Jess's POV and how she meets Cassidy. Sorry for any mistakes or if the characters seemed OOC.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much guys for reading and reviewing this! It really makes my day!** **J** **This chapter will have a lot more action involving Jess and Cassidy being paired up for a history project and becoming friends. I hope you enjoy it!**

Jess's POV

I look up towards the clock, the minute hand moving ever so slowly. Around me, yawns and sighs fill the air and I can feel the boredom. I think about how the first week of school has been treating me. Although Emma and I are in English and freshmen gym together, we don't have any other classes with each other since I am in advanced math. I think back to the first day when I had been so hopeful about this year but I can tell that it's going to be the same as any other. I even remember Darcy's comment about Cassidy and how I should become friends with her. I actually thought it was a good idea since one of my goals this year is to become more open and less shy, however, as soon as I stepped into Mr. Kasey's room, I froze and immediately sat down at the nearest desk. I saw Cassidy sitting three seats away from me on my left talking with Zach Norton. She seemed a little down and I heard a rumor that it was because her father had passed away a few days after school started causing her mother to move Cassidy and her older sister, Courtney, to Concord.

I suddenly pay attention again when I hear my teacher say the words, "partners are assigned."

I remember the handout we had to fill out yesterday with our choice of a topic. My teacher explained that he would partner us up with someone who had chosen the same topic for the project, leaving me worried since I don't really know anyone in my class. I listen closely when I hear the first pair of partners assigned.

"Zachary Norton and Cranfield Bartlett III… Jessica Delaney and Cassidy Sloane… Lilia Davis and…"

I look up in surprise. I can't be partners with Cassidy. The Cassidy, who Darcy talked about. This must be a coincidence, or maybe its fate. First, Darcy mentions her, next I am partnered with her, maybe later, I'll become friends with her. I'm honestly a little frightened though. What if I can't think of anything interesting to say? I don't want to lose the chance of making a potential friend because of my brain, my boring brain which only knows facts and can't interact normally with other human beings.

I sneak a glance at her only to find that she's looking at me. I smile but she turns around, frowning. Hmmmm, well then. She talks whispering to Zach Norton, who is sitting next to her. Both of them turn around glance at me, but I look away, scared to think about what they are talking about.

The bell rings, and I scurry out of the classroom towards the lunch room where I find Emma, already seated eating a turkey and swiss sandwich. Emma has had a rough week. Considering we have homeroom everyday, she has faced the Fab Four multiple times, always ending with Emma about to burst into tears. I tell her not to worry since they aren't together in any class except for Megan and Becca in math. If they don't have their whole team, they won't act out by themselves.

"Hey!" I say as I sit down, unable to contain my excitement to tell Emma what happened in History class.

"What's up?" Emma asks.

"The weirdest thing happened in History today! So I got assigned to be partners with Cassidy! The Cassidy Sloane who Darcy talked about. I think this is fate. Maybe we were meant to become friends. I'm scared though, do you think she will be nice? Do you think we'll finally become friends with someone other than us? Oooooh, and maybe Cassidy can introduce us to her other friends like Zach and Third!" I blab on, suddenly excited by the idea of starting high school with another friend.

Emma turns red at the mention of Zach's name. Everyone knows that she has a crush on Zach Norton, since whenever she sees him; she turns red and freezes up.

"Jess," Emma states rolling her eyes and trying to hide her red face, "this is just a little thing, and don't worry, you'll get over your shyness and become friends with Cassidy."

I suddenly can't stop smiling. I think this year is turning out to be a great one.

* * *

I meet up with Cassidy in class the next day to work on our project. She is friendlier than she was yesterday after my teacher read our names together. I start suggesting ideas for our project.

"Ok, so we both chose to work on the Revolutionary War, right?"

Cassidy nods, "All of this war stuff is really interesting to me, you know? The weapons and machines they used are really cool."

"Yeah; I just really like the idea of the colonists breaking free from England…" My voice trails off when I see Cassidy staring at me blankly. "Well, we can just create a PowerPoint or something with the causes, important people and events, and the effects of the war."

"Oh, that's a good idea!" She exclaims.

"Do you want to work at my house?" I ask.

"Um, I think we should work at mine, I have hockey after school so I have to go home and shower. You could wait or go home and we could just go to my house. If you want," Cassidy adds.

"Sure. I'll meet you at your house at about 6, is that ok?"

"Yeah! I'll see you."

* * *

My jaw drops at my first sight of Cassidy's house. It's an old house, but very big and comfy looking. I walk up her driveway, past her Acura. Cassidy's mother is waiting for me on the porch looking excited. I notice that I've seen her before, maybe around town?

"Hi", I say meekly, not sure on how to interact with parents.

"Oh, my dear! It is so nice to meet you!" Mrs. Sloane gushes, "You're the first friend, who's a girl, who Cassidy has invited to our house! Usually, she's always with Zach or Third, the sporty type."

"Hi" I reply again, not too sure of what to say. "Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Sloane. I'm Jess and I'm here to work on a history project with Cassidy."

"Well come on in dear, Cassidy's up in her room."

Suddenly, I realize something. Cassidy's mother looks really familiar. And I mean _REALLY_ familiar. I study her graceful movements, her tall and thin figure, her regal and sleek look. I remember my mom's magazines, before she left for New York. The cover of Vogue, featuring Clementine Sloane. If my mom were here, I know she would love to get to know Cassidy's mom. So would Mrs. Hawthorne.

Omigod, I cannot believe I just met the Clementine. She was such a famous model that people recognized her just from her first name. I'm suddenly shocked that Cassidy is her daughter, I mean, Cassidy and her mother must be as different as night and day. I wonder how I didn't know this before. Casting one last shocking glance towards Mrs. Sloane, I walk upstairs to find Cassidy's room. The house is decroated very well. ALl the decorations, centerpieces on the table, even the wall color and pictures and paintings match. There are these two weird looking mannequins dressed in clothing holding two signs that state _Welcome to the Sloane Residence._ The house is beautiful that I don't except Cassidy's room to be what it is.

Cassidy's room is very similar yet different to my room. Sure she has posters, awards, and paintings hung up, but her whole room is sports-themed. Her awards are for hockey and baseball, and her posters are of famous hockey players, there's even a signed poster from all the Anaheim Ducks that states- _To our biggest fan Cassidy._ Looking around, I see clothes everywhere, food scattered all-around, and a brown stain on her carpet. Cassidy come into her room holding her laptop. She must have seen me looking at the stain because she says, "That's just chocolate, don't worry."

"Oh good" I say, relieved that it's not something weird. "So, do you want to work on our project?"

"Sure, I already started the slide show, but that's all. I'm not really good at this stuff, working and trying at school. I need to put all my energy into

sports."

"I see, well, you can do whatever you can" I say to Cassidy while she attempts to throw some socks into her laundry bin.

I start working while Cassidy fiddles around on her computer, she must have been on Pandora or YouTube or something because music suddenly starts to play. She looks at me and sarcastically says "Pandora, I set it onto pop so we can listen to today's greatest hits!"

We finally both start working, well, I work while Cassidy fiddles around on her laptop. We both start singing to Shake it Off by Taylor Swift. Laughing, at how silly we sound, she starts dancing around her room. Cassidy is doing the robot or something similar to it but she keeps on knocking things over since her arms are really long. "I am the dancing queen of the world!" she hollers playfully. I laugh at how silly she is and think, _I am really glad we got to be partners._

 **Thanks for reading this chapter! I hoped you guys like it! Up next, from Emma's POV again, she will express her feeling and thoughts on Jess's new friendship. Will she be jealous or accepting? Will she become friends with Cassidy? I will update will come before the end of this week since its officially SUMMER!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ahhh! I cannot believe it! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! Your opinions mean so much to me. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter about Emma's feelings and thoughts on Jess's new friendship.**

Emma's POV

Today has been a terrible day. First of all, I had to give a presentation on the book _Of Mice and Men_ in English class. I bombed by dropping all of my note cards, then not being able to put them in order because everyone was already staring and laughing at me. So of course, I had to improvise which I'm not good at, especially since I was already flustered from my earlier mess-up. Then after class, the Fab Four stopped me by the doorway and ridiculed me. I still remember the conversation. Even Zach Norton laughed when Megan asked if my clothes were from the Thrift store in Boston.

"So Emma, I remember seeing that shirt when I went window shopping in Boston. It looked exactly like this shirt in the thrift store."

Becca and Jen both laughed at this while I tried to leave the classroom. I remember Cassidy walking up to the door with her backpack on her back, looking at me before leaving the room without saying a word.

Finally, I manage to leave while Zach starts talking to Megan and they don't pay attention to me. I head to the lunch room and look around once I walk in. I see Jess sitting in our usual seat, looking for me. Cassidy sits two tables away, laughing with Third and Ethan, another one of her jock friends. I walk to my lunch table and sit down.

Jess sits at the lunch table; sandwich in one hand, her history project grade in the other. "I cannot believe that we got an A on our project. Well, I can but Cassidy was so surprised! Her mom even invited me over to sleepover with Cassidy because she said that I am a good influence on Cassidy! I am so excited. Did you know that her mom is the Clementine who used to model? She is so pretty. I wish I had her fashion sense. Also, I need to introduce you to Cassidy, you will love her. She is so nice and really funny, even if she is a sports nut. OMG, I also think…"

I smile. Jess can be very talkative when she is excited about something, even getting to the point that I don't recognize shy, sweet Jess. I listen to her ramble on and on about Cassidy while nodding when I'm supposed to.

Inside though, I'm a little worried. I mean, Jess is my best friend. I don't want to lose her to someone who just moved here. And it's Cassidy. The Cassidy who doesn't have any girlfriends, who is a jock and doesn't care about school, who has absolutely _nothing_ in common with Jess despite the fact they're now friends. I get that Jess is pleased to have made a friend on her own, but it's not like she went up to Cassidy, asked how she was doing and started chatting; instead, the only reason they became friends is because they were assigned to be partners on a project. A project.

"Emma?" Jess asks tentatively. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing," I reply in a rush, ashamed to have been caught for not paying attention. "I'm listening."

"Well, I'm so excited to go to her house! Have you seen it before? It's humongous and Cassidy even brought me up to the turret and Cassidy said that we could sleep in the room!"

"Wait, when is your sleepover with Cassidy?" I ask her.

"It's tomorrow night, why?"

I look up in annoyance, "Don't you remember that you always come over for dinner? And we always do our homework and make cookies…" My voice trails off when I notice that Jess has a stricken look on her face.

"I'm so sorry Emma… I was going to tell you this before you asked when my sleepover is." Jess says to me meekly.

"Oh yeah, well all you've been doing this lunch period is talk about Cassidy! Cassidy this, Cassidy that. Jess, I thought that we are best friends, not Cassidy! Please, I'm already having a horrible day and when Megan made fun of my shirt, the shirt that my mom bought for me, Cassidy just looked at me and left. It's like she knew who I am but was too afraid to help me!" I snap at Jess.

I quickly leave the lunch room, unable to take the bad luck anymore. This has got to be the worst day ever! First all of that drama in English class and now I'm losing my best friend to Cassidy! I'm not feeling so well to my stomach so I go to the nurse.

"My stomach hurts, can I go home?" I ask.

The nurse takes one look at my tear-streaked face and lets me call my mom. My mom shows up within the next 20 minutes and takes me home. She makes me a cup of tea and we settle down at the table to talk.

"Emma sweetie, what's wrong?" my mother wonders.

"Jess is leaving me to become friends with Cassidy! She even blew off dinner tomorrow just so she can go to a sleepover at Cassidy's house!" I cry, more tears falling down like raindrops on a stormy day, which is exactly how I'm feeling right now.

"Honey, I don't think Jess will stop being your friend. I think she's just happy and proud to have made a friend on her own, especially after middle school where she didn't have any friends other than you. You're Jess's best friend and always will be. Don't worry about it, it's just one sleepover."

"Ok mom," I grumble at her sense.

"I suggest that you try to become friends with Cassidy as well, maybe even think about how Jess is feeling right now" my mom states as she transitions into her 'librarian mode', "Jess wants you to be happy for her I bet and you have to support her. Try to understand her happiness and become friends with Cassidy. Don't forget what Jane Austen quoted in her book, _There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends._ I think you should think about this."

I nod, feeling better about Jess. What my mom told me is right and I always trust her opinions. I head up to my room and lay on my bed. Taking out my purple journal, I open it to the next empty page and start to write.

 _Today, my mother gave me some advice and a quote- 'There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends' from Jane Austen. I thought about this quote for a really long time and I have to agree with it. I would do anything for Jess and I know that she would for me. I have no idea why I snapped at her today in the cafeteria. I'm going to apologize and even try to befriend Cassidy. I hope you understand Journal, but I'm really trying to accept this._

Later that night, I'm sitting at my desk finishing my homework when my mom shouts, "Emma, phone! It's Jess."

"Coming" I yell back as I quickly run towards the stairs, eager to apologize and make things right with Jess. After all, where would I be without my best friend?

"Hello?" I say into the phone, not hearing Jess's voice, only her soft and melodic breathing.

"Emma, I'm so sorry about today. I swear I was going to tell you but there wasn't a chance. But anyways, I've already rescheduled the sleepover to Thursday, not tomorrow. I hope you can forgive me. Please" Jess says in a rush.

"No Jess, it was my fault. I shouldn't have gotten so mad. I'm proud that you made a friend on your own. Introduce me?"

I can hear Jess smiling through the phone, "I'd love to."

The next day at lunch, I sit at our lunch table with Jess, explaining what had happened that made me snap the day before.

"So, do you want me to help you get back at Megan?" Jess asks, with an evil glare in her eyes.

I'm about to reply when I hear, "Yeah! So I was thinking…" coming from behind me.

We turn around to find Cassidy standing there, looking interested.

"There's nothing I love more than a great prank."

 **Hey! I really hope you guys like this story. I'll update before the end of next week (I think I'm going to update once a week during the summer but maybe once every two weeks when school starts). I know I already said this but thanks to everyone who read or reviewed this story! It's really helping me become aware of what I need to change as a writer. To answer some questions from the reviews:**

 **CottonCandyDream- There will be some Jarcy stuff towards the end of the story, so... Can't wait for the end since I absolutely 3 Jarcy (or Dess).**

 **Sunflowerstar481- I have planned out about eight chapters so far but I know that there's going to be more, so I'm thinking about 10 chapters, maybe even more depending on whether or not I change some of the chapters around.**

 **And thanks to CottonCandyDream, Sunflowerstar481, and Desss4ever for reviewing each chapter so far! You guys make my day!**

 **Just FYI, the story's going to end with the characters in good terms with one another and maybe forming a club. Hint, hint, wink, wink...**

 **Up next, from Cassidy's POV, the prank.**


End file.
